The Frost Festival
by Scarlett Witch
Summary: The winter festival is fast approaching in the old kingdom, a time of celebration and fun. Except for Sam, where it's a time of humiliation and embarassment. Until that faithful day he knocks a girl of her stilts...
1. Bird of dawning

Hello everyone! I'm taking a little break from my Lord of the Rings story to write this short little fan fic based on Garth Nix's fantastic stories. This story is based on an event in Lirael. I loved the idea of Sam playing the Bird of Dawning in the festival so I thought I'd make my own twist on it. In this story, the festival happens before Sam returns to school for his final year. None of the characters in Garth Nix's books belong to me, but I thought Sam deserved a little romance!

* * *

The Frost Festival. 

Sam woke up to the early morning birds chirping through the window. He groaned loudly and pulled his covers up over his head, trying to block out the sunlight that streamed through his window. Silently in his head he count the seconds, 3, 2, 1… as if on cue his sister Ellimere breezed through the door, singing a little to brightly for that time in the morning,

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" she carolled. Sam groaned louder and pulled the bed covers tighter around his head. Ellimere strolled over to the bed and grabbed the covers, pulling them swiftly from his grasp,

"Go away" growled Sam, attempting to block out the sunlight and noise by plugging his ears with the pillow,

"Wake up Sam!" Ellimere cried, impatiently, "I've come to discuss your schedule." She sat down on the edge of his bed, glaring at him, her arms crossed in front of her. Sam already knew by now that when his sister said 'schedule' it really meant that she had every moment of his holiday planned with the precision and entirely without fun,

"The winter festival is coming up fast and as the kingdoms only prince you'll…"

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sam, knowing exactly where this was heading. He sat up in bed and scowled at his sister,

"Yes," Ellimere continued, not slightly bothered by her brothers attempt to look angry, "You're needed to play the part of the bird of dawning."

"No." Sam said again, "I'm not wearing that bloody thing. It weights a ton and still smells from the last poor sod that wore it!"

"The kingdom must come first," Ellimere said, rolling off into a well rehearsed speech, "The peoples moral is very important at the moment…"

"And blah, blah, blah…" Sam mumbled, rolling his eyes at Ellimere. Ellimere glared at him,

"Sameth! You are going to dance the bird, like it or not," She declared, standing up to her full height, which was only a couple of inches above Sam, "The rehearsals start this afternoon. Don't be late!"

Sam groaned, he knew he has lost. With both his parents away, Ellimere was named co-regent, a responsibility that his sister took very seriously, especially when it came to running his life. Ellimere turned to leave the room only to pause and look over her shoulder,

"Oh and seeing as mothers away, she said you were to study that..." Ellimere pointed to Sam's desk where a small volume, bound in green leather lay upon his desk, _The Book of the Dead. _Sam's gaze followed her hand and a shiver came across him as his eyes landed on the book. It was his mothers' book, a book used only by necromancers and Abhorsens, a book full of free magic and protective charters.

"Is something wrong?" Ellimere asked, noting the queer look on her brothers' face. Sam looked up at her and swallowed,

"It's nothing." He muttered, barely able to speak. Ellimere looked at him again, with a look that contained equal parts of concern, annoyance and irritation. Then she turned around and flew out the door. Sam however remained standing, staring at the book. He wasn't sure exactly why it scared him so, just that it did.

The very pages of the book flowed with the charter laid down by Abhorsens thousands of years before him. The idea of such power held within a book frightened him. Yet he was the Abhorsen in waiting, he was expected to know this, he would have to walk into death at some point, it was only a matter of when. Sam shook his head and turned away from the book. He took a deep calming breath and stretched. He reached down and picked up the blanket Ellimere had cast aside and threw it back onto the bed. Sam gave one last yawn before moving through to the other small room adjacent to his to get dressed.

* * *

Well? What do people think? I'm not sure who long this is going to be and it's not going to be action packed, more of a bit of fluff! Please R&R!  



	2. Accidents

Aw, no reviews. Well I'm not surprised…the first chapter was a bit boring but it was it was just an intro to the good stuff (I hope) well here's a bit more which I hope will get someone pushing the little button down there!

* * *

Prince Sameth walked the corridors of Belisare castle, feeling utterly depressed. The wind howled bitterly outside, banging tree branches against the window. Only a week ago when he had left Ancelstrierre, it was the end few days of summer. Now back in the Old Kingdom it was the early days of a cold winter. But that wasn't that had the prince so downhearted, instead it was the joyous fact that he was headed to yet another rehearsal for the Bird of Dawning part in the mid winter festival. Sams part was to carry the sprig of spring at the end of the winter procession, behind Snow, Hail and Sleet. His first rehearsal had been a disaster; he had fallen over three times, bent his beak twice and had ruffled more than a few feathers. Sam went downstairs, doubting the next rehearsal would fair much better.

Sam entered the great hall with much less enthusiasm than Ellimere who greeted him with an eager wave. Behind her stood the dancers playing the winter sprites, six men and women dressed in white, blue and silver, looming high above him on silts. Luckily the roof of the hall was higher still so there was plenty of room for the dancers to move. Ellimere rushed towards him holding the dreading costume in her hands,

"Sam, there you are!" she called, "You're late, quickly put this on." She shoved the yellow, feathered outfit into his arms and shoved him in the direction of an off side room to change. In a matter of minutes Sam was stood before the dancers, the band, Ellimere and some other people whose names he didn't remember, each of them trying their best to suppress a laugh. Sam stood, stocked legged, in yellow tights and large leather feet which tripped him when he walked. His upper body was covered in a heavy tabard covered in bright yellow feathers and upon his head he wore yet more yellow feathers arranged so they stuck out to the sky,

"I do not have the legs for this." He muttered, as a couple of the women sniggered at him,

"You look fine Sam" Ellimere said, stifling a giggle, "now let's get a move on."

Ellimere signalled to the band and they started to play, a whimsical tune that floated through the hall. On cue, the dancers began to twirl and move about and Sam trudged in amongst them. The spirits of winter were supposed to try and prolong their season by stealing the bird twig and tripping him up with their silts. However the spirits were supposed to fail at tripping the bird yet even without their help Sam still managed to trip himself up. After picking himself up for the third time that afternoon Sam was decidedly annoyed at himself for his inability and at Ellimere for making him do this.

The music started once more and Sam took his place between the spirits, weaving about them, carrying his twig. Suddenly Sam lost his footing and stumbled forward, flailing his arms to keep balance. He lurched forward and crashed into the woman in front of him, sending her hurtling from her silts and landing on the ground with a heavy thud. A young woman with chestnut hair cried out from the side. She across the hall, wearing a deep red tabard, emblazed with a golden crown and two silver keys, the emblem of their newly rebuilt kingdom. She ran towards the fallen dancer, Ellimere was right behind her, kneeling down,

"Are you alright?" she asked her. Leille nodded and tried to stand only failed to do so because of a searing pain in her leg.

"Try not to move, Leille." The younger woman said, "Dr Shemblis is on his way"

"I'm ok Kailith." Leille said, trying to reassure the young guard.

"No your not." Ellimere said sternly, "There's no way you can carry on now. Where are we to find someone to replace you as Sleet? We'll have to call it off."

Ellimere glared over at Sam, as if daring him to smile. Dr Shemblis arrived moments later, followed by a man who brought over a chair on wheels and carefully helped Leille into it. After a quick inspection the doctor declared, rather loudly, that Leilles leg was badly strained and that she should remain off it. That threw Ellimere into a sudden panic, as to what to do next. Sam, who was feeling awfully guilty about knocking the poor girl down, couldn't help but be the tiniest bit happy about that fact that he wouldn't have to wear his bird costume in public. Kailith, who had remained quiet through most of the Doctors inspection, looked up and noted the prince looking slightly too happy about her sisters accident,

"Excuse me, your highness." She said, "But I've been to every rehearsal and I know the part backwards. I'm sure I could fill in for her."

Ellimere looked as though she could kiss the young woman whereas Sams face fell a good few inches,

"Well of course you could!" Ellimere said happily, "You're a bit smaller than Leille, but I'm sure we can sort out something. Right. No time to waste. Thank you so much Kailith!"

Sam watched as the chestnut haired girl put a hand on Leilles shoulder and picked up the fallen silts. Guiltily Sam made his way over to them,

"Um, I'm sorry bout you leg." He mumbled to Leille. Leille smiled politely, remembering that he was the Prince after all. Kailith, however, glared at him with bright green eyes but said nothing. She put on her silts and strutted away from him. Sam sighed. Suddenly rehearsals had got a whole lot worse.

* * *

Well, that's the next bit up. Things will start getting interesting now! Promise! 


	3. The Parade

Yay! Reviews! That's what we writers like to see! Yay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and even those who just read the story and didn't. It's just nice knowing that someone reads your stories and likes them! Anyhoo on with the show:

* * *

Sam was stood on the narrow sentry, pulling his fur cloak tighter around his neck, trying to block out the cold. He often came to the sentry to clear his head, but also to escape from Ellimere's dictatorship. The Frost festival was only hours away and as Sam had predicted, each rehearsal had steadily gotten worse. The new Sleet still wouldn't talk to him; it turned out the girl he had knocked over was her older sister.

Sam lent over and breathed into his gloves, he peered out hoping to catch a glimpse of her mothers red and gold Paperwing soaring towards home. But just like the previous nights he saw nothing but grey skies and dark clouds. A cough from behind him drew his attention,

"See anything interesting out there?" asked the guard.

"Not really Brel." Sam said, shaking his head. He looked down to where the city was preparing for the festival. Large tents and wagons were arranged in the city centre and banners of blue and silver hung from the buildings,

"Looks like it'll be a good fair this year." Brel said, clapping his hands together.

"Does it?" asked Sam. Brel looked at him sympathetically, knowing how hard his rehearsals were going,

"They say a hard practice means an easy dance," he said breathing into his gloves. Sam nodded and looked away from the guard. The guard inclined his head and resumed his march across the sentry, his red tabard disappearing into the darkness. Sam sighed loudly and went back downstairs, in twelve hours time he would be the laughing stock of the city. He was just glad that Nicolas wasn't here to see it. It had only been a few weeks but he was already missing his life back at Somersbys. Back there, no one had any interest in the Old Kingdom or that fact he was prince. At school he was just another boy. Not the Abhorsen-in-waiting or Prince Sameth. He was just Sam, the schools best batsman.

Sam walked down the darkened corridors, dimly light by charter marks flowing over the stone walls, scattering his shadow on the floor. He pushed open his bedroom door and threw himself onto his bed, burying his face into a pillow and groaning loudly. He rolled over onto his back and stared out the window. He could see nothing but the darkened sky and hear nothing but the howling wind outside. Sam tried to close his eyes but sleep wouldn't come, and even when it finally did his dreams were plagued with shadowed creatures on silts, trailing after him.

Sam stood nervously under the entrance arch that connected the castle to the rest of the city. He glanced out into the capital. The buildings were lined with flags and banners of various colours. Huge crowds of people lined the cobbled streets, cheering as the colourful parade of dancers, jugglers and acrobats made their way through the city. Behind him stood the winter dancers, Sleet in particular was leaning over him in a predominantly threatening manner. He glanced up at her. She had her chestnut hair pulled up in to a tight pony tail, held in place with a silver ribbon. She wore a silver leotard which clung close to her skin, accentuating the curve of her slim figure. He hadn't noticed before but she was actually quite pretty. Not stunningly beautiful but pleasing to the eye, especially to Sams. Suddenly she looked up and caught him staring. Sam jerked and spun around, his face flushing red as he stared at the ground.

The marching band of the procession was striding just ahead of them and the whole road seemed to vibrate with the heavy thud of boots and drums. Suddenly before he knew it, the familiar melody of flutes and pipes floating out from the band and Sam knew his humiliation had begun. Sam felt a shove from behind and he stumbled forward as three of the dancers strode ahead of him. Behind him followed the others, including Kalith who continued to glare down at him. Sam adjusted his head dress and walked out into the open, concentrating hard on not falling over. The crowd roared and jeered as their prince walked out into the road in the brightly feathered suit. The dancers ran ahead of him, occasionally stopping to pretend to trip him. Luckily they stopped a few feet away so he could actually see they had stopped. He managed to dodge their wooden legs with only minor stumbling.

The parade was going well; the crowd had stopped laughing and actually began cheering. He stumbled onwards, things going well so far. Sam shuffled and his band danced ahead of him, moving down the cobbled pathway towards the centre of the city. All around him, people danced and twirled while the crowds cheered. Feeling slightly more confident, Sam picked up his head and smiled at the crowd, giving a wave every now and again, when he felt it safe to take his eyes off his feet. Sam sighed happily as the fountain in the main square came into view; soon his part in all this would be over. He dodged another attempt to trip him and was almost at the fountain when suddenly he was hit with a searing pain in the back of his shin. Sam yelped in pain and lurched forward, tripping over his own feet and landing with a heavy splash in the middle of the fountain.

The music came to an abrupt halt and the crowd fell into a deathly hush, save for a few giggles. Two of the royal guards in thick red waistcoats appeared from nowhere and helped Sam push himself up into a sitting position, his costume waterlogged and heavy. He heaved his hood back, the cloth hitting his back with loud slap. He glared up staring at everyone in turn. They all stared back at him in shock and concern, until his eyes finally came upon Kalith. She was looking down at him with worry but he could tell she was trying desperately to keep her face from breaking into a grin. She had kicked him. Deliberately! He couldn't believe it. This girl had the gall to attack him in front of all these people.

Of course. That was it. It was her part to try and trip him. Sam glared up at her. If he complained she would just claim it was an accident. The guards grabbed him under the arms and carefully lifted him on to his feet. Sam looked at them and saw they were both trying to keep a straight face. Without a word Sam pulled off his hat and threw it down at Kaliths feet. He glared up at her, before storming back to the castle, leaving little wet puddles on the ground behind him.

* * *

Another chapter done! Poor Sam! as if he didn't have enough to worry about without public humiliation! But don't worry, it'll get better! Please R&R! 


	4. Peace offerings

I am sooooooooo sorry! bows head in shame I haven't forgotten about this story honest! I just got a little carried away with my other stories that I forgot to finish this chapter! But now I have and I'm writing the next one too which I'll post as soon as it's done! Thanks to those who reviewed and reminded me that some people actually want to read the end!

* * *

Sam lay back in his bath tub, scowling at the ceiling. His angry had subdued slightly, despite the giggling that came from the castle maids as he slomped past them in his soaking bird suit. He sighed loudly, sinking into the warm water until his head was submerged. The muted sound of music resounded in the metal tub. In the great hall below, the festival party had begun, but Sam had refused to go despite Ellimere's insistence.

A dull thud caught his attention and he brought his head back up out of the water. The noise happened again and Sam, realising it was someone banging on his door, groaned loudly.

"Go away!" he shouted, but the noise continued. Grunting with effort and annoyance Sam hauled himself out of the bath, wrapping a towel round his waist. He stomped across his room, roughly pulling open the door,

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out surprised.

Stood in front of him was the last person Sam had ever expected to see, Kalith. The young chestnut haired woman stood before him, now dressed in the formal uniform of the royal guard. But her eyes weren't on his face, they were, in fact considerably lower, making Sam suddenly very aware of how little he was wearing.

"I- I just brought you this." She stammered, an evident blush rising to her cheeks.

Sam looked down at the silver tray in her arms, laden with food and a goblet of wine. He looked back up at the girls' embarrassed face and felt his anger soften,

"You'd better come in then." He said, stepping aside to allow her past. Kalith looked up in surprise but nodded, carefully carrying the tray past him. Sam shut the door with a gentle click,

"Put it down over there." He said, pointing over to a small table, his voice a little sterner than he meant it to be. Kalith frowned slightly but did as she asked and waited patiently as Sam disappeared into the adjoining room.

Inside the room Sam let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Well, that was unexpected. The girl had had the nerve to just show up here after publicly humiliating him. Sam shook his head, he wasn't sure why but for some reason he wasn't as angry as he thought he would be. Sure, he was annoyed, but not livid. He allowed himself a small smile as he remembered the look on her face as he opened the door, shock, surprise and something else Sam couldn't quite place. Sam shook his head, ignoring the unsettling feelings in his stomach and quickly pulled on his clothes.

Sam opened the door softly and found Kalith wandering across his room. He stood in the doorway, watching her for a moment. She was standing in front of his bookshelf, her head tilted to the side, reading the spines. Then she moved over to his work bench. He almost went to stop her but paused as she reached down and gently picked up a small metal frog. A smile graced her lips as she turned the metal creature over in her hand. The floorboards gave a soft creak as Sam shifted, giving him away. Kaliths eyes shot up in his direction and she hastily put the frog down. Sam gave a small cough, embarrassed he'd been caught watching her.

"Did you make all these?" Kalith asked, indicating with her hand to the array of metal creatures and gadgets on the table. Sam nodded as he walked over to her.

"They're amazing." She said.

Sam looked surprised but caught himself before he smiled. No one had ever really taken much interest in his 'toys' as Ellimere had called them, but he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit pleased. A silence filled the room as neither quite knew what to say to the other. Sam opened his mouth to speak when Kalith sighed suddenly,

"Look, I'm sorry about before." She said, "I'd just meant to trip you not make you fall in the fountain." Sam looked at her sceptically, "No, really." She insisted, "I was angry about Leille and you were so smug…"

"Smug? I hated every minute of it!"

Kalith snorted in disbelief, "You were smiling and waving."

Sam opened his mouth to speak but closed it again when he realised he didn't really have a good argument. "Why did you come here?" he asked grumpily, folding his arms across his chest,

"Leille made me."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Your sister sent you here?"

Kalith nodded, "When I told her what happened, she sent me straight up here to apologise." She said, looking annoyed.

Sam smirked, "Least one of you has manners."

Kalith frowned, "I have manners!" She said, her voice becoming shrill as her anger came back.

"Yet you speak to a prince like that?"

"I'll treat you like a prince when you start acting like one!"

She glared at Sam who just stared back. They stayed like that for a moment before Kalith sighed angrily and walked over to the door, swinging it open. Sam watched as she stepped through but turned back to face him, "So are you coming or not?"

Sam blinked, "Coming?" he asked confused,

"Yes, to the party. Your sister's looking for you."

"Then what was that for?" Sam asked, pointing to the food.

"Peace offering." Kalith said with a smile, before disappearing behind the closing door.

* * *

Hehehe yay! All friends again! I really like Kaliths character now. I didn't at first but she's started to grow on me! Rightoff to write the next chapter! (again very very sorry for not updating!)Toodles! 


	5. Night Watch

Hello again! Hope everyone had a good christmas! Sorry for taking so long to update. I'm having real difficulty writting this story but I don't know why! I have lots of ideas but I can't seem to get in the writting mood. plus having two other stories to write makes things a tad difficult.

But enough of the lame ass excuses. I shall not give up! Read on and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Sam's footsteps clattered along the stone floor as he raced up the steps. Muttering to himself, he pulled on his heavy cloak and stepped out onto the sentry. The cold hit his face with a harsh whip of wind. Once more it was his turn as sentry, normally he didn't mind. He just wished it wasn't so damn cold. He bolted the heavy door behind him and made his way across the narrow path. He walked around the corner to where his fellow guard stood, wrapped in furs. Sam raised his gloved hand and called out in greeting. To his surprise it was not Brel that met him, but Kailith. Sam blinked dumbly for a moment before he found the use of his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" he asked,

Kailith stared back equally surprised, "Brel asked if I would take his shift tonight. Now I can see why." She replied, with a smile.

Sam gave a sarcastic smile in reply and took his place next to her. They stood in silence, staring out across the night, watching the clouds drift across the darkened sky. Sam stifled a yawn and heard Kailith laugh,

"Getting past your bed time?" she asked with a smile. Sam glanced at her,

"No." he said, annoyed, "I didn't sleep well last night." Sam sighed quietly and stared back at the sky.

The stupid thing was it wasn't a lie. Lately his sleep had been plagued with nightmarish dreams where hordes of dead would come lumbering forward. In his dream Sam would stand between the dead and the city. He would try to move but the bells that hung about his chest would suddenly become so heavy they stopped him from moving. He would try to lift them but the handles felt cold to his touch.

Sam shook his head. He had no doubt about what his dreams meant.

"Are you alright?" Kailith asked him. Sam blinked but nodded, "I'm sorry." She said quietly. Sam looked at her confused, "For what?"

"How I acted yesterday. Leille was right; I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I mean, you're the prince."

Sam shook his head, "It's alright." He said, "I think you're the only person outside my family who actually speaks to me like a normal person."

Kailith smiled and laughed. "Why, thank you your highness."

To his surprise Sam smiled back. The pair stood in silence for a moment.

"I hate these dark nights." Sam said with a sigh. Kailith looked at him,

"I'm the opposite." She said, "I hate the mornings. The captain always puts me on first duty. I think he does it on purpose." She smiled and looked at him, "I can never get up in the mornings" Kailith continued, "Leille has to come in at least four times before I'll even open my eyes."

Sam laughed at this, remembering how often Ellimere had had to come and drag him out of bed. He looked down at the girl in front of him and smiled. Some how he felt slightly better. Kailith smiled back before turning her head away quickly. Sam brow furrowed at her action. Had he said something wrong?

Still confused, Sam returned to watching the sky, ever hopefully of seeing his mothers Paperwing soaring towards him, but every so often his eyes would drift back to girl beside him. In the dark her pale face stood out more than usual and made her eyes look dark. He tried to remember what colour they really were. He imagined them to be a bright green, much like the emeralds that Ellimere wore. Sam shook his head. Why should he care what colour her eyes were?

Sam yawned again, his breathe billowing out in a grey cloud and next to him Kailith shivered.

"Are you cold?" He asked, trying not to sound too concerned. Kailith nodded, and brought her hands to her mouth, blowing puffs of silvered breathe onto them. Sam closed his eyes and felt into the charter, pulling at the marks for heat, burning and flame. He drew them out and knitted them together and binding them to form a small flare that glowed brightly in his hand. He held it out to Kailith who took it gratefully, cupping it in her own hands.

"I was never any good at this kind of thing." She admitted.

Sam looked at her surprised, "I thought all royal guards were charter mages?"

"We are." Kailith said, "I'm just not a very good one." Sam laughed quietly and turned away.

"I'm more useful with a blade." Kailith laughed, "What are you looking at?" she asked when she noticed Sam wasn't listening,

"Hm?" Sam mumbled,

"You've staring at the clouds every couple of second for the last ten minutes." She said,

"Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? We are the night watch." He answered sarcastically,

"Actually we're supposed to be watching the eastern horizon." She said, pointing in a different direction. "You keep searching the sky. What is it you're looking for?"

Sam sighed, leaning forward and resting his arms on the battlements, "My mother is returning soon."

"And that's a bad thing?" Kailith asked, leaning forward to meet his face,

"I don't know." Sam shrugged, "I am to be the next Abhorsen."

Kailith shifted beside him, "And you don't want to?"

"It's not that I don't want to… I just don't think I can." Sam hung his head. Why was he even telling her all this?

"But you feel like you have to?" Kailith asked gently,

"My sister is to be the next regent; therefore I am the abhorsen-in-waiting. I don't have much choice."

"Have you tried talking to the Abhorsen?" the girl asked, shifting to weight to lean her back against the wall, facing Sam.

Sam shook his head, "No. How do you tell your parents you don't want the same things they do?"

"It's not an easy thing to do." Kailith sighed, "My father is a fisherman and since we don't have any boys in our family and Leille gets sea sick," Sam snorted a laugh, "My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps. But here I am."

"What did he say when you told him?"

"What any sane parent does." Kailith said with a smile, "He yelled." Sam gave a small laugh.

"Finally my mother managed to calm him down and talk some sense into him." Kailith said, "Now he's teaching some of the boys in the docks how to do it."

Sam looked from her to the ground and then back at the sky and sighed. Kailith cocked her head to the side and looked at the prince,

"You're not just the Abhorsen-in waiting." She said softly.

"Yeah. I'm also the crown prince and laughing stock of the town." Sam muttered sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant." Kailith said, "Don't forget you're a person too."

Sam blinked and looked up at her,

"You're Prince Sameth." Kailith said with a smile, "Creator of strange mechanical creatures!"

Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing. He smiled at Kailith, wondering how a few simple words made him feel so much better. A feeling washed over him as he looked at the girl next to him, her face glowing warmly from the light of the small flame in her hand. It was a feeling he couldn't quite place but Sam wasn't a child anymore. He knew what it felt like to be attracted to someone and it wasn't at all unpleasant, kind of like a fluttering in his stomach.

"Your highness?"

Sam jumped slightly at the sound of her voice and couldn't fight down the slight blush that rose to his face when he realise just how long he'd been staring.

"Is something wrong?" Kailith asked her face frowned with concern. Sam swallowed and shook his head,

"No, nothing." He said, rather too quickly.

"Are you sure?" she said, holding the light up to see his face, "Your face is red."

Sam looked away, praying she wouldn't notice but lost all hope when he heard her giggle,

"Is your highness blushing?"

"No he is not." Sam argued, "And don't call me that."

"Call you what?" Kailith asked innocently,

"Your Highness. It sounds weird coming from you."

Kailith laughed, "Alright Prince."

"Just call me Sam." Sam sighed, starting to wonder what whether that earlier feeling had just been a stomach ache,

"As you wish." The girl said with a smile,

Sam frowned at her, "You're thoroughly annoying, you know that?"

"I know."

* * *

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and gave me the kick up the arse I needed to get this chapter finished!

next chapter soon! (my new years resolution was to update more often... hmm.)


End file.
